I had a customer come in a few months ago that had recently started a yad job w/ UP. He was going on and on how easy and good paying it was, how much time he got off, etc. To me, this sounded like a dream job, so once a position came up here in Ft. Worth, I applied. I went to the hiring seminar yesterday and realized it is as bad as it seems on the job description. You’re on call 24/7/365 and you can guarantee you will be called as soon as you’re rest is over. Holidays and weekends are non-existent. Basically they pay you for the inconvenience, but they pay well for it. They also need to put in the description that you will get a divorce and you won’t get to see your kids grow up! These are thing that I won let happen, so I had to decline at the interview. I don’t know if I would have gotten the position anyway. I knew in the back of my mind it had to have been hard or everyone would do it, but geez! That customer of mine had to really be stretching the truth or got REALLY lucky!
Maybe he’s single and has no family to support or worry about.
My brother-in-law was an engineer on the Terminal Railroad of St. Louis and never knew when he was going to be called in, and this was long before cell phones, pagers, etc., so he had to phone into the dispatcher every time he wanted to leave the house and tell them where he was going and for how long, and leave a contact phone number if possible.
Mac,I spent 91/2 years working as a brakeman and while it was rough it provided for my family and the things they wanted in life.
Now if a woman divorces her husband because he’s a railroader then IMHO she’s not much of a woman to begin with and he should be happy the wench left because she didn’t love him in the first place…Now…I would never tie myself to a womans apron string that dang tight I couldn’t do the work I wanted be it driving a truck(another rough job) or railroadin’.
Maybe he WAS married, and to him that WAS an ideal job. [:-^]
One of my former coworkers at one time had worked on a track maintenance crew. He too was on call all the time. He said you usually got called out in the worst weather, either real hot or real cold because that is one it was most likely the track would fail. He wasn’t at it long before he decided there was a better way to make a living.
Railroaders, and merchant sailors, and members of the military, have always faced the problems described In the case of the military, there’s also the probability of getting shot at!
The simple answer is, you love it, or you leave it.
Chuck (Retired MSGT, USAF, modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
I’m afraid these type of jobs are all going to less than favorable hours and days off. A friend of mine worked 5 years for the IC as a temporary employee on a track repair gang, before finally being hired full time. He was on call 24/7 and no benefits. He said what really boiled his oil was that the temps were putting in 2 to 3 times the hours of the full timers. I worked in a factory that did the same thing. Most railroad men have been with the same company (or been merged into others) and have so much seniority built up that they may have 6 or 7 weeks vacation time in a year. Lets face it, in this day and age getting started out in a job in any field is tough. I’m disabled now, but I worked for a company 11years and had built up 4 weeks vacation. Their policy on new hires though was 90 days probation with no days missed, no excuses. After probation you could miss 3 days in a year and get wrote up & go back on the ninety day probation. They had a very high turn over rate for firing for absenteeism, but always kept about 200 active applications on hand at all times. People were like cattle, very easily replaced. Tweet.
It all comes down to how marketable your skills are. If there is a demand for what you can do and not enough people to meet the demand, companies won’t treat you like that. If it is a job that they can get just about anybody to do, they will treat you like a disposable part.
Been a railroader 8 years. And I HAVE been shot at, during that time. I’ve also been rocked. Neither was particularly fun.
Luckily, my wife is very understanding about the hours I keep. And being an officer, I really am on-call 24-7-365.
Nick
Maybe the railroader who dropped by the shop had finally gained enough seniority to bid for a good job? That would be my guess.
Everyone I know who’s gone railroading has stories similar to the above. If you last, things get better. It’s really sad to say that so many employers have so little respect for their workers. Railroads have always had that reputation, for good reason. Now it’s spread to the rest of the economy – and there’s no real reason for it other than greed. Job skills have little to do with it, as most jobs these days can be done by anyone of reasonable intelligence.
But I was born in Eugene Debs’ home town, so maybe I’m a bit biased.
Hi
In theory I work from 0730 to1600 with one week in three on roster for signal failures.
The money is not bad the depot I work from are a good crew.
The roster week can be hell on earth but the money can be really good.
Its not good when the track machine’s are in our territory or its school holidays.
You are either railway people or not the railway people stick together and support each other the not end up in all sorts of strife caused by the hours etc etc.
But I love it when the tourists are about in wild flower season I get paid to go and see the flowers they have to pay to go and see them
You have to have the right state of mind to work on the railways and so does the good lady If not your doomed.
The biggest surprise is how many are also railway modellers, toy train operators or other railway related hobby
regards John
Not a railroad man but in my last job I took the night and weekend shifts so that if I needed a particular day off, I got it no ? asked. Also liked that things were open on weekdays so wife and me could go shopping or just hangout (kids were in school).
I have over 30 years on the Norfolk Southern (one more to go!) and I can’t say I will be sorry to go. The job (Signal Construction) pays well and has good benefits but I’m ready to move on to retirement. I have been lucky though as I work four ten hour days a week with three day weekends. The downside to that is ALWAYS being away from home and living in motels.
But it could be worse ! [:D]
You’ve both got it right [(-D]
Also, as I said on the track the other night… "If you haven’t got a sense of humour… what are you doing here?
Personally I’ve always liked to do the chaos work. You (mostly) go to/from when no-one else is on the road, you get to see sunrises and sunsets - and/or stars - that most people never see, the job is laways different and often challenging. If you’ve got to spend at least 1/3 of your life doing something you want it to be good… well I do… It can be hard on relationships but I was able to fit my shifts around caring for my late wife and, before that, I got to be around during the day when my stepdaughter was growing up - which you don’t get in an office job - I can go shopping when I want without the crowds - and to theme parks on the quiet days. I can walk the dog in daylight all year round. Me? I love shifts and I like the work.
I know lots of people that can’t understand how I cope with the shifts let alone the fact that I don’t even work regualr patterns (by choice). They don’t get the pay and job satisfaction that i get as far as I can see… but they’d rather stick with the “safe life” they have. that’s another thi
I spend all my hours working in air-conditioned rooms…either office rooms, or computer rooms. All day I bang on keyboards. I work in Information Technology. I started my career over 15 years ago, working for the telephone company, climbing poles, fixing people’s telephone lines, etc. This was in Newfoundland where winter is a frozen version of hell. But summer time was nice…an occasionally you climb a pole and see a missus sun tanning in the back yard. Despite the crummy weather, getting the flu or cold more often, freezing rain blowing down yer neck, -48VDC bleeding into your wet hands…I actually sometimes think that is how I would like to spend my last few years before I retire…out of the stinky air conditioned room and back outdoors. G-day my lady. [8D]
I’ve even thought about enquiring into the RR, working signals and communications, or maybe a conductor but I’m 36, married, got a 17 month old, and probably another soon…and I really like being with them…so I see no change over the next few years.